Design and the Question of History is not a work of Design History. Rather; it is a mixture of mediation; advocacy and polemic that takes seriously the directive force of design as an historical actor in and upon the world. Understanding design as a shaper of worlds within which the political; ethical and historical character of human being is at stake; this text demands radically transformed notions of both design and history. Above all; the authors posit history as the generational site of the future. Blindness to history; it is suggested; blinds us both to possibility; and to the foreclosure of possibilities; enacted through our designing.The text is not a resolved; continuous work; presented through one voice. Rather; the three authors cut across each other; presenting readers with the task of disclosing; to themselves; the commonalities; repetitions and differences within the deployed arguments; issues; approaches and styles from which the text is constituted. This is a work of friendship; of solidarity in difference; an act of cultural politics. It invites the reader to take a position ndash; it seeks engagement over agreement.
#2440690 in eBooks 2014-07-15 2014-07-15File Name: B00S16XSJ0
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Comprehensive; concise; professional preparation for preparing; running and managing live theater and other kinds of shows.By The Lone ComicThis book; written by a top professional in the field with years and years of experience; was everything one could expect to understand the critical role a stage manager plays in mounting; running and closing a production. The role of the stage manager is critical; straddling the line between the creative side of theater and the production side of theater.One aspect of the authors assertions I will moderate (but not dispute at all) is the role the stage manager plays as "confidant; counselor and confessor to all involved in the production" - while it may be accurate; is a little overly dramatized in its import; and I suspect may be contextualized by the authors vast experience in university theater settings; where the majority of the cast and crew are students of not quite full adult age; and may have a higher incidence and engagement rate than in other theatrical settings outside of major academic venues.That however; is based only on my comparison of having been in student theater in high school and college; and my professional experience mounting a one man show and having to do it all myself. That of course is not the same as a full scale production; but mainly speaking; only theater people who tend to keep to their own because of the tradition have a socialization context unlike non-theatrical people.Outside of that; buy this book youll be hard pressed to find better data for the price. We are all lucky Daniel A. Ionazzi not only wrote it; but continues to teach and practice this rare and challenging critical theater production skill.The Lone Comic TMDefender of Creativity and Entertainment SM0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. If you are new to stage managing; this book ...By James F. SaulinoIf you are new to stage managing; this book may be a bit much for you. It lays down all or most of the intricacies of the craft. It will encourage the reader either to pursue stage managing further or provide him /her with sufficient information to make an informed career decision. This book thoroughly explores Stage managing.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The description claims no highlighting but there is from pages ...By Alison MillerThe description claims no highlighting but there is from pages 9-18. Not many pages. But still highlighted. Otherwise the description is accurate.The book is perfectly helpful for beginning Stage Managers but I thought it left out a couple of things; such as taping out the set design for rehearsals. Other topics could have been expanded as well; i.e. managing disputes/confrontations among company members.
